How to Stay Cool in Summer Heat - Tips To Feel Fresh

How to Stay Cool in Summer Heat - Tips To Feel Fresh

Your body temperatures rises when outdoor temperatures go up, explains Mathis. To maintain a normal, comfortable temperature, your body needs to release heat through its pores. A little perspiration is good. Excessive sweating, however, can cause dehydration, which dominoes into a sour mood, irritability, and sluggishness. (In extreme circumstances, it can even make a person delusional.) That’s why it’s important to keep your body temperature down before you go outside. Not only will it help you look cool but you’ll also feel more comfortable once you’re out and about.

One trick to try: Place skin-care supplies in the refrigerator before hopping in the shower, suggests Joanna Schlip, a Los Angeles makeup artist. That way, after you’re dry, you can smooth on the cool products to refresh your skin. Or take it a step further: “One trick I learned is to put the metal jewelry I’m going to wear—my bracelet, necklace, and earrings—in the freezer before going to a fancy event,” says Lara Koslow, a real estate executive in Los Angeles. “The jewelry holds the chill for a while and keeps your skin cool.”

Stay Cool Tip 1: Do Your Hair First

Take a cool shower, rinse with cold water, and tackle your hair. “I always sweat when I blow-dry my hair in the summer,” says Elizabeth Schatz, a writer in New Orleans. “So I do my hair, take a minute to cool off, then do my makeup.” Try this strategy:

If the bathroom is steamy from the shower, blow-dry your hair in another room. Then blast the back of your neck and body with the dryer’s cold setting to cool off. Or, better yet, just let your hair air-dry.

Go light on hair products, suggests Carsten, stylist and owner of the Carsten Salons, in Arizona and New York City. “The heat always works against you. So there’s no point in using flat irons or rollers,” he says. Wear your hair naturally: If you have curly hair, use a light styling product, such as Aveda Be Curly Curl Enhancing Lotion to smooth down humidity-induced frizz. And if your roots tend to get greasy quickly, even after you’ve washed your hair, spray them with dry shampoo before drying, suggests River Lloyd, a hairstylist for the John Frieda Salon, in New York City. It freshens your roots and gives your hair hold. To keep straight hair smooth.

Get your hair off your neck. Otherwise, you might as well wear a wool scarf to that picnic. Twist longer lengths into an updo. Shorter hair should be trimmed during the summer so that ends don’t fall below the hairline.

Do it after dark: Since even one blast of a blow dryer can leave you hot, consider washing and drying your hair at night, when it’s cooler outside.

Stay Cool Tip 2: Use the Lightest Skin-Care Products

The trick to keeping your skin dry and free of shine is to put as little on it as possible.

Refresh your skin with a toner (or glycolic pads). Toners remove dirt and oil from the face, in addition to cooling it. But if you suffer from breakouts, wipe your skin with glycolic acid pads, which clean the skin and deep-clean pores, says Bruce Katz, a New York City dermatologist. “In the summer, you need to have clean pores,” he says. “Blocked pores lead to breakouts when you sweat.”

If you live in a wet or humid environment, abandon moisturizer altogether—or use it only around the eyes, where it’s usually most needed, suggests Patricia Farris, a dermatologist in Metairie, Louisiana. Use an eye gel, which is the lightest form of moisturizer.

If you live in a drier climate (or have dry skin), moisturizer may be needed. To find one that won’t kick-start the sweating process, avoid emollients, such as lanolin, which obstruct the pores. Heavy moisturizers act like a sweater on your face, explains Katz: “Skin needs to breathe in order to regulate body temperature.” So look for a noncomedogenic moisturizer (one that won’t clog pores) that contains a humectant, such as hyaluronic acid or glycerin, which will attract moisture from the air to the skin. And use it only where necessary.

Keep Your Cool All Day

Pack a to-go kit:

Tote a bottle of water, and add a wide-brimmed hat and a pair of sunglasses to keep the heat off your head and shoulders, suggests Mathis. A paper fan may also come in handy. If you sweat a lot, take a small package of tissues, which are best at removing significant moisture. And Sally Firth, an American respiratory therapist who has lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, swears by antishine lotions. “Foundation just melts away here,” she says.

Eat more often—but eat less.

Spicy foods, protein-laden meals, and creamy ingredients can raise your body temperature and send you into a metabolic overdrive, says Joy Bauer, a registered dietician in New York City. So it’s best to steer clear of heavy meals and go for fruits and vegetables, which are saturated with water and help keep your body hydrated and comfortable.

Avoid salt, alcohol, and caffeine.

All of these dehydrate the body. Caffeine also constricts blood vessels, which hinders the body’s ability to cool itself, says Mathis. Instead, sip water or an energy drink, such as Gatorade, suggests Bauer. “In extreme heat, these drinks replace lost fluids, glucose, and potassium.”